CHART: Australians Are Drinking More Whisky And Young Drinkers Are Changing The Mix Of Top Brands

Young Australians have replaced over-65s as the nation’s biggest whisky drinkers, thanks to what market researchers have called the “Mad Men effect”.

Retirees comprised about 10 per cent of Australia’s whisky-drinking market just eight years ago, when 18- to 34-year-olds accounted for just 8 per cent.

But Roy Morgan reports today that whisky consumption among younger groups have risen sharply since 2007, when period TV series Mad Men began to air.

Market researchers say Australian whisky consumption has risen almost 19 per cent to about 19 million glasses a month in the past four years, with the average consumption rate fairly steady at just shy of 10 glasses per whisky drinker.

Australians aged between 25-34 now account for the largest share of the whisky-drinking market (13% in September 2013), followed by 18- to 24-year-olds (11.9%) while market penetration in the other age groups has remained steady.